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Rafael Benitez

Jesse Pinkman

by Jesse Pinkman
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LoveItIfWeBeatU

LoveItIfWeBeatU

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You could argue aiming to finish 8th was only a little less realistic a target than aiming to finish 17th. Southampton are currently in 8th on 46 points and Swansea are 17th on 38 points. There are 10 teams covered by that 8 point difference. Outside the top 7 it is very close between the other teams.

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Mick

Mick

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I've just ordered Rafa's Way : The Resurrection of Newcastle United.  I'm looking forward to receiving it in a couple of weeks.

 

Snap mate and also Mark Douglas' book too!

 

Here are the links;

 

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rafas-Way-Martin-Hardy/dp/1909245666

 

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inside-Rafalution-Mark-Douglas-x/dp/1910335762

 

Thanks, I've now ordered the second one.

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TRon

TRon

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we are patronised as being idiotic and expecting to be challenging for the title or something. That way rather than travelling all the way up north and talking to our fans to discover our thoughts on any Newcastle related story they can just rehash some nonsense to explain away any unhappiness and not criticise Alan f***ing Pardew in any way for his miserable excuse of an existence.

 

It's just lazy soundbites from the London press, which is extremely powerful in shaping fans' opinions. The press will strongly defend any English manager because they see it as some sort of national shame that foreign managers have been far more successful in our league, despite the fact it is clearly a global league now. Pardew has a lot of friends in the media - he mustn't be the problem so it must be us.

 

I've met a lot of people who say they didn't know any Newcastle fans but assumed we were all deluded. When I ask what they mean, it usually comes back to the media portrayal and wanting to get Ashley and Pardew (with his 8 year contract) out of the club so we could move on and at least try to compete. Yet if you ask these fans if they'd have Ashley or Pardew anywhere near their club, the answer is always no. Another common thing I hear is about the number of managers we've gone through and that we never seem to be happy. Again, when you remind people: Souness, Roeder, Kinnear, Pardew, Carver etc, they accept they wouldn't want any managing their PL side. Robson, Keegan and Benitez have all been hugely popular here - we're no different to any other set of fans. Pardew got 4 years ffs.

 

We're miles better. That's not bias,read Isaac Hayden's interview for an impartial view.

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Guest neesy111

Guest neesy111

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Ridiculous releasing a book on based on 1 season. 

 

:lol: Be happy.

 

I'm bloody fine.  I just think it's ridiculous writing a book based on 1 season in the championship.  It's the same when you see players releasing autobiographies after they are 21.

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HawK

HawK

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Ridiculous releasing a book on based on 1 season. 

 

:lol: Be happy.

 

I'm bloody fine.  I just think it's ridiculous writing a book based on 1 season in the championship.  It's the same when you see players releasing autobiographies after they are 21.

 

Prefer those than the ones before they are 21 tbh.

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Dave

Dave

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Love how his main reason we'll struggle is because we have no PL experience, and then goes on to suggest Brighton will finish above us despite them having less PL experience than us.

Dead on. Half the premier league clubs don't have the experience we do as a premier league club for that matter.

 

This expectancy thing gets on my tits too. Virtually all our fans will tell you that comfortably staying up is the objective next season. Anything more is outstanding.

 

Nevertheless, I have a problem of this criticism regardless. Any fan should want their club to be the best and any sportsman should have that desire more so. But hey that's the media and premier league agenda. Elitist to say the least. Heaven forbid that people should want more than to be just another club in the league that fills up the numbers before they eventually get relegated.

 

More pressure up here than Burnley, Hull and Bournemouth. Of course there is. We're one of the top 10 successful clubs in the country with a fairs cup to our name and recent champions league experience. How dare people even compare us or our "expectancy" to the likes of those teams or even the likes of Leicester, Stoke, West Bromwich, etc.

 

Actually for that matter what makes these cunts think Chelsea and Man City fans have reasonable expectations? The only reason they're perceived as big clubs is because the overwhelming financial backing that has got them there. Before that they were no different from us. City struggled to sell out at home games when they were winning the league a few years ago and probably still are and yet you never hear of their fans being an issue. Arsenal fans are desperate for Wenger out and half the media back them...where was or support when we had that arrogant, egotistical twat  (Pardew) spewing bollocks every week. Deluded Geordies.  Above their station. Go fuck yourselves man.

 

There probably is increased pressure here but that's because we're not some fucking polyfiller premier league team who've (to give credit to those clubs) done exceedingly well in elevating the club's to the best they can be. We are Newcastle United and we're one of England's largest clubs.

 

The media in general are just utter fucking jizzcocks

 

#Rant

 

Great post.

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Mick

Mick

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It's not often the case, but Neesy is right.

 

Na, so much has happened to the club since Rafa came that I think they're probably worth doing now rather than waiting until it's a distant memory.  Ultimately the time to decide whether they're worth doing will be after reading them.

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joeyt

joeyt

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Nixon's done an article about Rafa and Newcastle for Marca

 

As Rafa Benitez crossed the pitch towards the Gallowgate End at St James' Park, a deafening chorus of his own name came back at him. Benitez waved the assembled supporters off onto the streets of Newcastle Upon-Tyne, a job well done and promotion achieved at the first time of asking.

 

Benitez would leave the pitch with the Championship trophy in his hand, the product of 46 league games, and one crazy two-minute period on the final day of the season, in which Aston Villa - a side that twice played a part in relegating the Magpies from the Premier League - stifled Brighton and helped Newcastle finish top of England's second tier.

 

"I don't have the English words to describe it." a smiling Benitez said afterwards, the medal around his neck.

 

The 57-year-old has now been on Tyneside for a little over 12 months, his arrival a serendipitous one after he was dismissed by Real Madrid. Initially tasked with saving the club from relegation, few supporters expected Benitez to stay on after their demotion was confirmed. Yet, a final day victory over Tottenham Hotspur convinced him there was untapped potential, and amazingly he agreed to stay on.

 

Understandably, projections for Newcastle's season swayed between league dominance and a struggle. England's second tier is a war of attrition. It's a game on Saturday and then on Tuesday, midweek trips to difficult grounds, all while those teams recently relegated undergo a drastic overhaul.

 

For someone with a Champions League and La Liga title on his resume it did not sound appealing. Roberto Di Matteo, another winner of Europe's top prize joined him in the league at Aston Villa, but lasted just a few months before Dr Tony Xia wielded the axe.

 

"It feels really good [to win the league]," he said. "I'm really proud of everyone because we knew it would be difficult. At the beginning everyone was saying, 'Rafa has no experience of the Championship and it will be tough.' They were right, it was very difficult but the commitment and hard work of the players every day, and the staff and everyone involved, and then the support of the fans, has made a massive difference."

 

Benitez stayed the course, and his signings, bar one or two, worked out well. Dwight Gayle and Matt Ritchie both dropped out of the Premier League to join Newcastle, and between them contributed 35 goals. Benitez built from the back, and by the end of the season Newcastle had the meanest defensive record in the Championship - 46 games played, 40 goals conceded.

 

Benitez has not only tended to matters on the pitch, but also attempted to rebuild the relationship with supporters. Under the Spaniard's predecessor, Steve McClaren, home matches felt like an obligation rather than an event. There is arguably no greater sign of support for Benitez than the Gallowgate Flags initiative, with large tifo like displays that have not been seen at St James' Park in years.

 

Where once distance existed between players and supporters, Benitez has been keen to foster a sense of togetherness, with his final programme echoing those sentiments. "Enjoy the game - and remember that everything we have achieved this season, we have done so together, united," he wrote. "We must look to do the same next season."

 

Of course, Benitez is not perfect. He seems married to the 4-2-3-1 formation that found him success at Liverpool. He is at times overly cautious from a tactical perspective, but the truth is few fans care about those shortcomings because Benitez is building something at the club; an identity and ethos. This season has seen players with ambition and appreciation for the club represent it.

 

As for what he gets from the deal, Benitez has the control he has always yearned for, and a respect for what he does. "Here [in England] one is valued and respected for ones work and there are no backroom politics, unlike at other places," he said, in what is likely a thinly veiled dig at Real Madrid.

 

He recently agreed to stay on next year, and is already diligently planning for the Premier League. Where once the Magpies were content to survive, they are now seeking to thrive. Such a turnaround is swift, but it highlights what seems - for now - a perfect marriage between Benitez and Newcastle United.

 

http://www.marca.com/en/football/international-football/2017/05/20/591ff3ece2704e11238b4633.html

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Altamullan

Altamullan

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Ridiculous releasing a book on based on 1 season.

I don't think creating something non-fiction that people want to read has to be linked to a particular amount of time covered so much as how interesting/significant the event(s) are. Literally how momentous the period covered is. Whether that's a day or an decade. I think last season was momentous, not so much the winning but the establishment of the Rafa era: securing him as our manager and the feeling of connection with the cloob this has re-awakened in many fans. Why wouldn't you want to read about that? Especially if written by someone with a track record of well-written NUFC-related books.

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